UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones has been called to appear in court following accusations that he verbally threatened a female anti-doping officer with death in Albuquerque.
The alleged incident occurred at Jones’ residence on March 30 and was reported to the police on Friday.
According to a police department report reviewed by the BBC, the complainant stated that Jones was intoxicated, made death threats towards her, and confiscated her phone after she requested a urine sample in the presence of two anti-doping officers.
In response, Jones shared a video on Instagram depicting both drug test officers “leaving my home after the testing session, where we exchanged a high five and a hug”.
The athlete, who accused one of the testers of violating standard protocols and health insurance laws, added, “Although I was frustrated with the unprofessionalism and used profanity out of frustration it ended friendly and amicably, nothing threatening at all.”
Jones, aged 36, has not competed since March 2023, when he defeated France’s Ciryl Gane via submission.
Known as “Bones,” he has secured world titles in both the light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions and is regarded as one of the sport’s greatest fighters.
Since his sole loss against Matt Hamill in 2009, Jones has remained undefeated.
In 2018, Jones received a backdated 15-month suspension for violating the UFC’s anti-doping policy. He was stripped of his light-heavyweight title after testing positive for a banned substance before his UFC 214 bout in 2017.
However, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) concluded that Jones “did not intentionally cheat.”
In 2023, Jones stated that he felt exonerated from being labeled a “steroid cheat” following adjustments to the threshold levels for certain prohibited substances in 2019.